US formalizes ban on govt contracts to China's Huawei, others
Washington: The United States unveiled rules on Wednesday formally banning technology giant Huawei and other Chinese firms from government contracts in the latest move in the countries' escalating trade war.
The interim rule will preclude any US federal agency from purchasing telecom or technology equipment from the firms "as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system," starting August 13.
The rules implement a ban included in the defense authorization act Congress approved earlier this year.
Waivers to the rules may be granted "under certain circumstances" by an agency head for up to two years, or by the Director of National Intelligence in other cases, which were not specified.
Huawei said it would press its court challenge to the constitutionality of the ban in federal court.
In a statement, the company said the law "will do nothing to ensure the protection of US telecom networks and systems and rather is (a) trade barrier based on country-of-origin, invoking punitive action without any evidence of wrongdoing."
The new rules are part of a sweeping effort by President Donald Trump's administration to restrict Huawei, which officials claim is linked to Chinese intelligence.
It also comes amid a heated dispute between the two economic powers over international trade rules, which some analysts say could roil the global economic system.
The rules, which require a 60-day comment period, also bar contracts to Chinese firms ZTE, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company and Dahua Technology Company.
Huawei also faces sanctions that bar the export of US technology to the Chinese firm on national security grounds.
That ban, which has been suspended until mid-August, could prevent Huawei from getting key hardware and software including smartphone chips and key elements of the Google Android operating system.
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Cong says LoPs not invited to Putin banquet, takes swipe at Tharoor for accepting invite
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have not been invited to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took a swipe at its own MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invite.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight's official dinner in honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited."
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
"There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government," he told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event.
Asked about party MP Tharoor getting invited to the banquet and accepting the invitation, Khera said, "Ask Mr. Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable and those who accept such an invite is also questionable," Khera said.
"We would have listened to our voice of conscience," he added.
Earlier, Tharoor said there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited but that practice seems to have stopped from some years.
"It has been resumed ...I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go," the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs said.
On the LoPs reportedly not getting an invite, Tharoor said, "I don't know on what basis invitations were sent. I think the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly, I remember in the olden days, they used to invite not only the LoPs, (but) various other cross section of representatives of different parties. It conveys a good impression."
"I dont know the basis (of invitation), this is all done by the government, by the protocol by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, what do I know. All I can say I have honoured to have been invited. Of course I will go," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.
Gandhi on Thursday had alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks had come hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
Gandhi had said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.
"Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's time, Manmohan Singh ji's time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP," Gandhi had told reporters in Parliament House complex.
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